Behind the Brand with Action Sports Icon Tony Hawk

Tony is the first to admit he made some mistakes with his brand early on in his career but he quickly course-corrected and turned the Tony Hawk brand into an empire.
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"Get a real job" is something action sports icon Tony Hawk heard a lot growing up. But that was before "skateboarding for a living," X Games and the Dew Tour were part of our vocabulary. Tony is a pioneer and the unquestionable godfather of the sport who deserves a lot of credit for breaking down barriers and negative perceptions about skateboarders being thugs and vandals of city streets.

Tony is the first to admit he made some mistakes with his brand early on in his career, but he quickly course-corrected and turned the Tony Hawk brand into an empire. Skateboards and apparel aside, video games really helped catapult Hawk forward. And with some savvy marketing sense and a willingness to be patient, Tony reaped the financial rewards as well as vested partners.

Although Tony has been officially retired from the sport for a number of years, his legacy and work continue via his charity (the Tony Hawk Foundation), the RIDE Channel on YouTube and many more worthy endeavors. Watch the full video interview above and let me know what you think. Tweet me @BryanElliott and I promise to reply.

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